National Republican., 1887-10-25
Statement of Mr.. Manning.

EDITOR NATIONAL REPUBLICAN,: Your ar
ticle Of the issue OF Oct. 90 relative to a
personal assault made upon me in the ante
room Of the Office OF the Secretary Of the
Treasury is In most material portions an
incorrect statement, and evidently prepared
with the intention Of giving the public q
view favorable to the assailant and derog-
atory to me. The newspaper man Of the
Secretary's office seems trained In the art Of
coloring and duplicity.
The simple facts are, that while waiting
In the ante-room to see the Secretary upon
business Of my clients casually remarked
to Mr.. MacLennan, who had without
being requested by me intruded him-
self upon my errand, "How much did
- pay you for your services ?" did not
state nor imply that he had performed any
services, or II so what kind OF services they
were. For augbt l said or implied they
might have been services at wedding or
funeral. Immediately he responded with
the leap Of a tiger and struck me unawares
O severe blow upon the side Of the head.
he attempted IL again, when parried his
blow, and he struck my right arm severely,
and thereafter made several similar at
tempts, which-were thwarted by myself and
the messenger who intervened. There was
spring lock on the door of the ante
room leading to the corridor, and, as
1t did not open readily, the mes
senger opened the door to the
Secretary's Office, and 1 passed into that
room, thence to the corridor, and left the
building. Imade no appeal to the Secre-
tary, as stated by the newspaper man Of the
Treasury Department, and had no occasion
to, as Mr.. MacLennan was shrewd enough
not to enter the Secretary's Office. The
messenger closed the door against him and
behind us. had no occasion to appeal to
the Secretary, and was abundantly able to
take care Of myself, after was made aware
Of the brutal intentions and acts Of the So
called chief Of the warrant division. 1t re-
mains to be seen whether this brutal assault
according to the Evening Star, is applauded
by come Of the treasury officials.
have lived all my life In civilized COM
munity, and am not accustomed to the
Kentucky or Texas method, or what may
now be known as the Washington method.
The Washington Post says there are seven
young men awaiting trial in the District
passion. These things Will continue SO
long as officers Of the government wink at
such things and applaud them, and they be-
come Indirectly responsible for the frequent
cases Of aggravated assaults often ending In
murder. The public, under the spirit that
moves the present administration, naturally
expects this sort Of conduct, and while 1t re-
ulhlnb III power any peTSOu udSlug 10 uO
business with the department is liable to be
met with this sort Of treatment, unless an
example is made in this instance.
The penalty Of S., $40, SIS, or SEQ i'm
posed In the criminal courts for such as
saults should be changed In each case to at
at least thirty days. imprisonment, and 1t
would be but short time thereafter that
newspapers will be called upon less fire.
quently to record these brutalities. The
present method Of administering the crimi-
nal law for these offenses In this District is
constant invitation to the bully and
bravado In the community to answer argu-
ment by blows and for his comrades and
pals to speak of him as q ''smart fellow"
l could easily have throttled MacLennan
or given him q sound thrashing, and
should have been justified in doing
so, but, except In cases Of self-defense,
do not care to pollute myself further with
the author Of such conduct. The national
administration which exists, as every one
knows, by virtue of the controlling power
In politics In the large cities, by fraud, and
all kinds, as recently developed in Balti-
more; by violence, cunning trickery, and
even murder, is not expected to have any
moral sense.
, II the newspapers will do their part, and
get both sides OF statement, and not pub
lish ex parte reports, they will aid very
materially In establishing proper sentiments
In the community, and will approximate
somewhere in the region Of truth In making
reports touching upon the rights and con
duct OF individuals.
JEROME F. MANNING.